Former No 10 expert tells Covid inquiry of death threats against his family

Prof Sir Jonathan Van-Tam and his family were advised by police to move out of their home during the pandemic because of a threat that they would have their throats cut, he has told the Covid inquiry.

- Peter Walker, Jamie Grierson

In other evidence given yesterday, it emerged that Prof Sir Chris Whitty, England's chief medical officer, said that the scale of threats against him meant he had close police protection for nine months.

Van-Tam, one of Whitty's deputy chief medical officers during the pandemic, said he was worried that the scale of hate from people who objected to lockdown measures could put off others from doing jobs like his.

"My family didn't sign up for that," he said. "I did not expect the police to have to say: 'Will you move out in the middle of the night or in the middle of the evening for a few days while we look at this and potentially make some arrests?'

"I make this point because I'm so worried that if there's a future crisis, people will not want to sign up for these roles, because of the implications that come with them."

Van-Tam said he and his family had chosen not to move out as advised because there was no one who could look after their cat, but that it was a "very stressful time indeed".